Tuesday, October 9, 2012

The Amazing Amish Cinnamon Bread Alternative

The first time I tried Amish cinnamon bread I fell in love. It was so good! Unlike coffee cakes and sweet breads that I had tried, this was very moist with just the perfect touch of sweetness.

Over time though, I got weary of kneading the mix everyday, adding this or that ingredient, and separating the batter to give to a friend. For a while I resorted to freezing the batter, but soon I just gave up.

While complaining about this process with a group of ladies, one lady piped up and said, "I have this great recipe that tastes just as good as Amish cinnamon bread and you don't have to do anything special to it. You just mix it up and cook it. In fact, my husband has been eating this bread every morning for the past twenty years."

That must be some good bread to be eating it every morning for the past 20 years. She was right, it was delicious!!! So, I thought I'd pass it on to my readers.

Cream together butter, 2 cups of sugar, and eggs. Add milk, flour, and baking soda. Put 1/2 of batter (or a little less) into greased loaf pans (1/4 in each pan). Mix in separate bowl the 2/3 c sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle 3/4 of cinnamon mixture on top of the 1/2 batter in each pan. Add remaining batter to pans; sprinkle with last of cinnamon topping. Swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 min. or until toothpick tester come clean.

Cool in pan for 20 minutes before removing from pan.

I have also made this bread in muffin tins which made it a little easier to freeze and take out as needed.

Thanks for sharing, Melissa! Looking forward to trying this. My husband always has a slice of quick bread or muffins for breakfast or work snack. I bake, slice and freeze for convenient and ready treats.

I have been a big fan of Amish Friendship Bread, but honestly, this loaf is AWESOME! So easy and I added a bit more cinnamon and some dried cranberries, walnuts AND a box of instant vanilla pudding. Love this! Thanks.

My sister gave me a bag of Friendship Bread two weeks ago -- Love that one of my friends pinned this on Pinterest!! Now I don't have to keep up with that bag of batter (that I don't remember to knead half the time)!! :) Thanks!!

I never have so I can't tell you from personal experience. I assume though, that it would be like any other dough that you might freeze. Just let it thaw out completely before cooking it. I guess you might just have to try it and see. :0)

Do you know if you can add a box of pudding to your recipe? The original amish bread calls for a box of pudding mix and the bread is really moist...almost like a cake. Plus, I like to use flavored puddings to give it a little different taste every now and then. Pumpkin pudding in it tastes amazing.

I've never tried adding pudding to the recipe, so I can't tell you for sure. The bread is very moist with the original recipe. I can understand the benefits of the other flavors though. All I can say is you might just have to try it and see. :0)

My recipe does call for a Tablespoon of either vinegar or lemon juice to make buttermilk. That is the way I've been doing it, and it works. It could be that it also would work with only 1 tsp of vinegar as well. I might have to try that sometime. :0)

The best way to make a butter/sour milk is pour 1 Tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice into 1 cup, then fill the rest up with milk to equal 1 cup. Mix and let sit for 5 minutes, then mix again before adding to batter. This is how I just made mine. It's in the oven right now, and will have to cook longer than the recipe states as my center is not done either. If I have to bake it too much longer I will be putting aluminum foil loosely on the top of the bread to avoid the bread getting too dark.

My first time making this, I used pans that were too small and had to adjust for baking times. I just made this again for Thanksgiving in the proper size pans and they came out perfect. This recipe is absolutely to die for delicious. Thank you very much.

What was the "proper" size? This was my first attempt at this recipe. I just tried to bake the two loaves but the pans I bought must have been smaller so they overflowed and started smoking. Took everything out, turned the oven off, now I have to wait to clean up the mess before attempting to finish baking them. Was really looking forward to this bread. Hoping I can salvage it!

I made this yesterday with some modifications. I just couldn't bring myself to use an entire cup of butter so I used 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup applesauce. I also used 1/2 whole wheat flour and 1/2 all purpose flour. It turned out wonderful! Thanks for the recipe.

I tried cutting the recipe in half and I used the same size pan that you had mentioned in a previous comment but I had it run over the pan into the bottom of my oven. So I guess halving the recipe doesn't work and you are better off just making two loaves!

thank you very much for pointing this out. i was going to do that also since it will be my first try making it. i'm home for a while recovering and i need something to keep me busy 8). can't wait to try it out. it looks amazing.

Oh Amanda, I am so sorry about the bottom of your oven! I hate it when that happens to mine. You know, I actually have never tried only making half of the recipe. It sure seems like it should have worked though, huh? Guess you'll just have to freeze one next time. :0)

Yum this was delicious!! I was a little nervous about the 2/3 cup of sugar mixed with the cinnamon, seemed like a lot of sugar, but it was not overly sweet at all! The perfect sweetness, my husband and I loved it :)

This recipe is amazing! I made it in muffin tins and we all love it. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. I am going to make it in loaf pans next time. Have you ever added apple to the recipe? I was thinking of grating a Granny Smith into it.

Tattycat, I actually have never added apples to the recipe. Another commenter though mentioned that they had used applesauce as a sweetener and really like it though. Sounds great to me! Glad you enjoyed it!

I want to thank you for this recipe! I made it tonight and it turned out wonderful. I was a bit concerned about the amount of sugar, but it didn't turn out too sweet. Just perfect. I shared the recipe on my website (with pictures) and a link back to you. Thanks again. http://scrumptiouscyn.com/the-amazing-amish-cinnamon-bread-alternative/

Hi Heather,Sorry about the tough crust. Yeah, it really shouldn't take longer than 50 minutes to cook. I usually start checking mine at 35-40 min. It's tough when all ovens cook differently. Glad it still tasted good!

I made this today and it was a HIT!! My DH even said while I was baking "I don't know what you are baking, but it sure smells good" I had a slice after dinner tonight with a cup of tea and LOVED it! My DH also tried it and packed a slice in his lunch for tomorrow! I will for sure be making this again and again! THANK YOU for sharing!

I shared on my Facebook wall and a friend went out to get the ingredients and is making it tonight also!

I made this last week and it's the best cinnamon bread recipe I've EVER had! So moist!! I substituted a half cup of whole wheat flour and it turned out great. I also had to bake it a bit longer.Thanks for sharing this recipe!!:o)

I've made this two weekends in a row and my friends/family can't get enough of it! I decided to split it into 3 medium sized loaf pans, and did 3 layers of the cinnamon/sugar mixture instead of 2 (so batter, c/s, batter, c/s, batter, c/s). Also used 1/3c brown sugar and 1/3c white sugar. I froze two loaves to save for "later", but people loved it so much I froze it on Saturday and had to thaw it on Wednesday because it was so popular!THANK YOU for sharing this wonderful recipe. It will be treasured for many years to come.

Hi Melissa! I finally jumped on this bandwagon last night (after having your recipe pinned for AGES), and what a pay-off! I took another commenter's advice and subbed applesauce for half of the butter and it turned out FABULOUSLY. I actually made a mistake and did 1/2 c. butter and an entire cup of applesauce (oops!), which made the bread extra moist and delicious! Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe!!

I was going to to say you can also add butterscotch pudding and butterscotch morsels if you love butterscotch. I usually make a amish bread called Cinnamon Butterscotch Bread. But I hate having to do the 10 day starter so this process is so much easier but the butterscotch gives it just the right kick to spice things up.

Greetings from Australia! I found this recipe via Pinterest and just finished making it. Absolutely DIVINE! I used small loaf tins and it cam out a bit crumbly (so I couldn't spread a bit of butter on it). I think next time I may bake it for 5 min less (I did 1/2hr) or perhaps add a dollop of apple sauce as someone else suggested. Thanks for sharing!

Looks delicious! I was planning on making cinnamon bread this weekend so I have been searching for recipes! I found a couple that looked wonderful, but this recipe looks so much different than the rest. I may have to try more than one recipe!!!

Lori, you can store it room temperature or in the fridge. I would say in the fridge would give it a couple more days. Honestly, unless I freeze one loaf, which I try to do every time, ours doesn't usually doesn't make it past two days. Everyone has eaten it by then. :0). As far a freezing it, I'd say about three months. Once again ours has always been eaten up way before then.

Hi there! This recipe looks so good....I have a silly question that will out me as a baking novice, but when you say "cream together" Are you using a mixer (hand mixer) or can you whip it with a fork?I want to make this...but I don't speak baker-eseThanks!

Thanks for asking! I guess we do use quite a bit of "baker" language, huh? LOL. Yes, I use a mixer, not hand mixer when I say cream together. You could use a hand mixer just as well, but I use my kitchen aid for almost everything, creaming, mixing, kneading, tossing, etc.... It does it all. The only thing you want to avoid if using a mixer is not too mix it too long. Just mix it until everything looks blended together.

That is a LOT of sugar...has anyone cut it down and had it come out good? I always cut sugar down in muffin or quick bread recipes...I definitely want to try adding an apple too, so that would add sweetness.

Made these into muffins today and they were outstanding!!! Love love love this recipe and will be making again and again! Thank you for sharing and I can't wait to try it in loaf form. I posted about it on my blog today, with link to you of course:)

Thanks Melissa, It just came out of the oven, I used just the bundt pan and it is absolutely fabulous, I'm surprised that it's not as sweet as I anticipated, very pleased. My son has just devoured 3 slices and my husband is not far behind. I didn't use a hand or stand mixer, I did it by hand, I figure the Amish didn't so neither will I, Lol. Thanks so much, you're awesome :)

I made this bread today, and it turned out perfectly! I did a half recipe (just one loaf), and it tastes wonderfully moist and with the perfect scent of cinnamon. The only change I'd like to make in the future is cut down on the butter or use applesauce substitute. I'm planning on putting this recipe on my blog, with credit to you, if you don't mind. I'll keep you posted as soon as it publishes!

This is such an amazing recipe, I tried it out a couple of weeks ago and fell in love. News of such deliciousness had to be spread, so I photographed the gorgeous loaf and posted about it on my blog. It was so delicious and so simple to make. A real treat!Thanks for a fabulous tea time indulgence.

I came across this recipe (yeaa Pinterest!), and it sounds just absolutely wonderful. I never had Amish bread, but here in Holland (......your recipe is taking over the globe ;)....) we have something called Suikerbrood ('sugar bread') and it sounds much alike. After reading all the comments I can hardly wait to start baking! I'm gonna make it this week, for a family Easter Brunch! Will let you know how it turned out...! Bye!

I made this yesterday and my family loved it! It was so moist but I especially liked the crunchy topping. I came downstairs this morning to find my youngest with an entire loaf infront of him:) I will definitely be making this again.

I made this yesterday and my family loved it! It was so moist but I especially liked the crunchy topping. I came downstairs this morning to find my youngest with an entire loaf infront of him:) I will definitely be making this again.

I used baking Splenda for half of the sugar called for in the cake part. The rest was regular sugar including the cinnamon sugar part. Baked in a bundt pan. Gave half of it to neighbors who said the next day "there was no friendship in our house-we were fighting over the last piece!" LOL Few ingredients, easy assembly, fabulous results. THANKS!

Reading a lot of the comments has inspired me to experiment. I like cutting some of the butter for applesauce, I think I'm going to use some brown sugar in with the sugar/cinnamon mixture and I'll add toasted pecans somewhere. This is for Resurrection Day breakfast at church, so wish me luck. :•)

oh YUM. still a little warm from the oven. quite moist and great taste. thanks so much for posting the recipe. i found you through pinterest. i'll try this again for sure. i didnt have any baking soda so i used baking powder instead. what will it change when i use the correct recipe next time?

This is an awesome recipe, thanks for sharing it! Mine just came out of the oven and I burnt my mouth sampling it (totally worth it) and it is amazing! My house smells so wonderful, also! I want to try the cut up apples next time someone suggested. I used regular buttermilk and I love the sweet/buttermilk taste.:) elisabeth

this recipe was amazing. i followed your recipe exactly. im sure it was just a moist and tasty as yours. haha im hoping it was. i cant wait for my grandaughter to get home and try it. thank you very much.

I made this recipe tonight and it came out very moist and had a nice rise to it. I used half butter (1 stick) as well as a half cup of vanilla yogurt to make it somewhat lower in fat. I also used less sugar, and it still tastes good but I think it's important to make sure you really use up all the cinnamon-sugar part of the recipe because that gives it the nice flavor. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

Your bread probably doesn't look like mine, because I have gotten lazy and no longer "swirl with a knife". I just leave it the way it is. So there ends up being a crusty layer of cinnamon sugar on top. Feel free to be lazy too, if you'd like. :0)

So I made this and it was delicious! I'm actually getting a kitchen aid mixer tonight too! I'm pretty stoked!

But I do have a little question. I made this and I put the c/s mix in the middle and it came out with a line of c/s. The pictures looks like there isn't a line of c/s. What did I do wrong? Its a little overpowering of cinnamon when you get to that part.

I tried to make a healthy version of this. I made buttermilk with soy milk & lemon juice,used 3 cups whole wheat flour & 1 cup All-purpose flour, I also used Splenda sugar blend instead of regular sugar. Sadly, I didn't like the end result. I guess making it healthier ruined it. I think the sugar is where most of the problem is since I have this awful aftertaste, also the whole wheat flour made it very dense. What a tragedy, I will just have to make the recipe as is and I bet it will be fabulous.

Sorry. :0( Maybe you could try substituting out one of the ingredients at a time, to figure out which ones substitute well. I would agree that the whole wheat flour would make it a lot more dense. It sounds like people have had luck using applesauce for the sweetener. :0)

I made this last night and I substituted agave syrup for the sugar and mine turned out awesome! The kids loved it and the husband didn't notice a difference. For the c/s mixture I did use just regular sugar. No yucky after taste! My oven isn't the best so the bread on the sides and bottom got a little over done before I could get the top set, but it still taste yummy. Hope this helps...anyone. :)

I hate to say this, but I'm in the minority and wasn't impressed with this recipe, especially when it came to taste. It smelled fabulous when baking, but the bread is more cake-like, and there isn't really a flavor to it.

I added a little extra cinnamon, and thought about adding some vanilla or almond extract to the batter, but decided against it...I should have gone with my gut feeling.

It's not BAD, it's just sort of bland. I expected heavenly choirs of angels singing based on the comments above, but I'm guessing the raves might be from moms who are used to bland toddler-inspired food; my family is older and we like a lot of flavor.

I LOVED the simplicity of the recipe, and I'll definitely try it again because I think it's got potential...I'll just make some tweaks and see how it turns out.

I started making Amish bread when I was in my early 20's, after about the third time of adding, burping, and waiting, I decided that the recipe have me the finished product all along. On the last day when you add all the major ingredients, I just start from there, it makes the most moist and yummY bread ever. I only make this a few times through out the year, but my boys know it as cinnamon Christmas bread. When they where little it was hard to get them to eat with all the excitement of the morning, so this has been our tradition for the last 20 years. And since the oldest two are married they have told their wives they have to get my recipe so their boys can have cinnamon Christmas bread before they open gifts on Christmas morning. The middle boy says we aren't waiting until Christmas to make some, LOL, he always did have a sweet tooth.Rhoni T, from Oklahoma.

Thank you for sharing this! My boyfriend and I are pretty dirt poor right now, and I have everything in my kitchen needed to make this except the pan, so as soon as I have a spare $5 to get a baking pan, this is SO happening :) YUM

Thank you for sharing this recipe. I found it on Pinterest and the just baked loaves smell wonderful. I tend to bake this sort of bread, and many pound cake recipes, in mini loaf pans for freezing and gift giving. Based on comments above and the recipe calling for larger loaf pans I went with 7 mini loaf pans. They worked just right for this recipe, baked for about 30 minutes. They filled up but did not overflow. This will be added to my favorite recipes book.

Oh...my only change was to use half white whole wheat flour. The bread still came out very light and airy, so the switch worked. I may try the applesauce for half of the butter switch next time. Thanks again for sharing.

This is in the oven right now. Because apparently I have no intention of sleeping tonight.:) After reading all of the comments, I added about a 1/4 cup of applesauce, not to replace the sugar, but just to enhance the moist factor, and punch up the flavor a touch. I mean who doesn't like apples and cinnamon right? I hope it turns out well. It smells absolutely fabulous in the oven. My teenage daughter just got out of bed to call me cruel and unusual for making the house smell like breakfast 8 hours too early. I can't wait to taste it with a little butter on top, and a cup of coffee.

Made this today and the house did smell fabulous. Kept one at home and, in spite of the protests, took the other to work. Everybody loved it and it is on our do over list! I did add a tsp of vanilla and a tad more buttermilk.

Just finished whipping this up. It does make a sizeable batch. I wish I had read all the way through the comments first. Adding applesauce or combining the cin/sugar into the dough would have made this great bread amazing. Still really good though!

Something I discovered that has come in so handy in my family is buttermilk powder. You just store it in the fridge and add it with water to any recipe that calls for buttermilk. It lasts forever, too! I got tired of buying a whole thing of buttermilk just to make a batch of Saturday morning pancakes or needing just a cup for muffins. You can't tell the difference AT ALL! :-)

Made this the other night, made one regular size loaf, 8 mini loaves and 24 mini muffins. The kids ate the muffins right off, the mini loaves were for breakfast the next morning and the full loaf was gone before 3pm. My 3 year old and 18 month old LOVE it.

Thanks for stopping by to let me know, Renee! I am so glad you are enjoying it, and I totally understand the kids going through the loaves fast. Sometimes I'm tempted to make four, just so I can actually freeze some. :)

Only question though - is it okay to cover the top with Aluminium foil during the first half of the cooking time? My oven seem to always burn the top of my breads before the insides are cooked, if that made sense.

Well, you have probably already made the bread by now ashC. :( But I was going to say it is worth a try if your oven seems to be pretty hot on the top. THe only thing that might happen is that the bread might end up a little soggy. If you did try it- how did it turn out? Did it work for you?

After reading all of the wonderful reviews, I decided to make this bread and now I'm convinced that it's my baking skills or lack of that caused it to not turn out right. I made both loaves and put them in the oven at the same time. One turned out great, except that I must've put too much c/s mixture on top since some was still dry and the other loaf was all gooey inside. I put the other one back in to continue baking...still in as I type...hopefully will come out as good as the other one. I will try this recipe again, but maybe only half next time.

I am so glad that you tried the recipe! Yes, this recipe does tend to really reveal discrepancies in ovens. If your oven's temp is not quite hot enough, it is going to take more than 50 min. to bake. Mostly for that center part. Some that have had troubles with their centers have opted for baking the recipe in a bunt pan and that has eliminated that center not getting done as well. As far as the cinnamon sugar being dry on the top, try adding a little more in the center and not as much on top. Trust you'll have a chance to try it again. :)

I grew up with that Amish Friendship Bread...we'd knead the starter and then bake the bread. I've often wondered how to get that same recipe and this is pretty darn close! I do agree with the previous posts about revealing oven inconsistencies, but I'm looking forward to making this again and figuring it all out. It's definitely worth it! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!

Sasha, I hope that your bread turned out well. I agree, even with oven inconsistencies, it is worth figuring it out. So GOOD! I just made it the other day in a bunt pan and had to cook it for 60 min + . Good 'ol inconsistent ovens. :)

I made this last week and it was amazing! I currently have a loaf in the oven, plus 2 muffin tins and a mini muffin tin (I only own 1 loaf pan) but this time I tried adding banana to the mix. I'm not sure how that will turn out though.